Category: Alternative Hip Hop

Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a subgenre of hip hop music that encompasses the wide range of styles of hip hop that have not become identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as follows: “Alternative rap refers to hip hop groups that tend not to conform to any of the traditional forms of rap, such as gangsta, bass, hardcore, pop, and party rap. Instead, they blur genres drawing equally from funk and pop/rock, as well as jazz, soul, reggae, and even folk”

Alternative hip hop developed in the late 1980s. Its commercial momentum was impeded by the then also newly emerging, significantly harder-edged West Coast gangsta rap. A resurgence came about in the late 1990s and early 2000s with the rejuvenated interest in indie music by the general public. In the 2000s alternative hip hop reattained its place within the mainstream, due in part to the declining commercial viability of gangsta rap as well as the crossover success of artists such as OutKast and Kanye West. The alternative hip hop movement expanded beyond the US to include the Somali-Canadian poet K’naan, Japanese rapper Shing02, and British artist MIA. Alternative hip hop acts have attained much critical acclaim, but receive relatively little exposure through radio and other media outlets.

Any Gorillaz fans will recognize the name Roots Manuva, he gave a spectacular performance on their song All Alone on their crown jewel Demon Days. He’s a big deal in the UK, but kinda unheard of up here in Canada. But he should be played a lot more! His sound can go from anything to fun alt hip hop: ex. Join The Dots to introspective sad rap much like the stuff coming out of Seattle (Grieves comes to mind) such as songs like Sinny Sin Sins where he talks about his Pentecostal upbringing. He can also do songs that capture hearts much like Method Man’s You’re All I Need, Roots has Dreamy Days a ballad like love song sure to be relatable to more than a few. Bring it all together with muddy, dark, and often overpowering beats and we get Run Come Save Me, a hip hop album not to be missed.

It’s actually embarrassingly the reason I first gave Blackalicious a chance, it’s a really original cover with awesome colours.

Want to Own on Vinyl?:

Yeah I’d absolutely love this one on vinyl.

Final Thoughts:

I bought this album on a whim back in my high school day and it was such a gateway album for me. It got me into other Quannum guys like Lateef, Lyrics Born, and Honeycut, as well as other rap groups like Jurassic 5 and Dilated Peoples. It’s a really big album when it comes to forming my music taste, it really got me into some of my all time favourite artists. I owe a lot to this album and the damn thing still holds up. It’s really fresh sounding, really cool beats, really fast/fun lyrics. From tracks like Paragraph President, to the follow up to Alphabet Aerobics: Chemical Calisthenics. It’s an amazing album that nobody should miss. NOBODY.

Love it, it really fits the overall vibe of the album, and is just really beautiful.

Want to Own on Vinyl?:

It’s funny, before sitting down to listen to the album as a whole I would’ve said absolutely, but seeing as there is a lot of dead space between the songs I’m really into, I’d say no now.

Final Thoughts:

I got into Zion I at the same time as other artists like Blackalicious, The Mighty Underdogs, and Brother Ali. So he automatically gets points for being grouped with those groups who were really important to my musical formation in High school. The Take Over is a pretty okay inclusion in my music library, the only problem is that there are quite a few misses for me on this album, but the songs that land are solid.

Sick of conventional music, looking for something psychedelic and reminiscent of the golden age of hip-hop.

Thoughts on Album Cover:

It’s super awesome. I love it so much. It fits the album title and the overall vibe of the music on the record.

Want to Own on Vinyl?:

Yes, absolutely.

Final Thoughts:

This is what I’d define as psychadelic hip-hop. It’s like John Dwyer put his talents to a hip-hop album and allowed a weed fiend take the mic from him. You can practically smell the weed through the speaker when listening to Yessir Whatever. It’s truly a unique album, super odd, not for everyone, it strums the right chord for me, but I can see it really grating against others. Listen to it and let me know your opinion in the comments below.

Want a mash up of tons of critically acclaimed musicians from hip-hop to blues/funk.

Thoughts on Album Cover:

It’s super random, just like the whole album, love it.

Want to Own on Vinyl?:

So badly.

Final Thoughts:

This is one of those absolutely amazing albums that just went unnoticed, and I’m baffled why that is. I mean look at that star studded list of featuring artists, are you freaking kidding me? This is a music fans dream of an album and I for one am not letting it slip away without giving it the proper appreciation. The album as a whole may have only gotten 75%. But the songs that work, work really well. Please listen to these guys. You’ll thank me later.

Looking for some weird ass rap that’s not going to be what you expect it to be. It’s really friggin’ original.

Thoughts on Album Cover:

Iconic. It’s probably in my top 10 album covers of all time. Love me some Doom folks.

Want to Own on Vinyl?:

Absolutely, just for All Caps alone.

Final Thoughts:

This is one of my reviews where my formula really worked against me, the pure amount of instrumentals and interludes made it really work against it. At the end of the day I love Doom, and his rap is on point every time he picks up the mic on the album, I guess I just wish he’d do it more.